Communications between individuals are increasingly digitized and transmitted via the Internet. Individuals are communicating through text messages, email messages, voice mail messages and the like. In the case of a text message between two individuals a conversation thread is maintained. Each individual contributes text to a chronologically listed record of the communications between the two individuals. With each new communication, a new entry is added to the communication thread. Either individual can review the conversation thread at any time and edit it locally in the messaging client.
Maintaining a complete and precise record of a sequence of communication may inhibit the spontaneity of an interaction. For example, when one has a conversation with an individual, it is typically not recorded and therefore the exchange may be more candid.
A live conversation between two individuals may be memorialized with notes, but in this case there is visual feedback indicating when one individual is recording information, which allows the other individual to clarify a point or otherwise alter the direction of the conversation.
Storing the entire contents of a digital conversation may also make it difficult to surface the most important information. It is a case of information overload. Selectively saving certain communications in an ephemeral conversation thread allows the user to quickly recall or reference important aspects of the thread.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to have a digital communication mechanism that more naturally mimics the types of interactions to which individuals are accustomed.